The California Senate Just Took a Big Step Toward Abolishing the "Pink Tax"

The "pink tax" — the extra charge women pay for products companies market to them while charging less for near identical men's product — winds up costing ladies thousands of dollars over the course of their lifetimes.

But California may soon put an end to the pink tax in the state. On Thursday, the state senate passed the Equal Gender Pricing Bill, authored by state Senator Ben Hueso, a Democrat from San Diego. In Hueso's words to the Los Angeles Times, the bill "would prohibit the sale of goods on the basis of discrimination to women or men."

"We understand that women already earn less income," Heso said on the Senate floor, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Why are we charging them more for essential products that they need in their everyday lives?"

The problem isn't isolated to California. In one of the few more comprehensive studies on the topic, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that women's products cost more than similar men's products 42% of the time, whereas men's products cost more than women's products only 18% of the time.

Mic explored the issue in this episode of "Flip the Script" with former Mic senior correspondent Elizabeth Plank: